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I've started work on a new Jaster Mereel outfit, starting with a SgtFang bucket. I'm fairly inexperienced, but I think I'm getting the hang of it pretty well. See progress pics:

I filled in the dent and fixed a flaw in the resin with a strong marine epoxy - the black/dark gray areas in the pics. I experimented with a product that was basically a dual-syringe filled with epoxy chemicals meant to bond with plastic and fiberglass, but the heat of the reaction, combined with the absolutely horrible fumes made me quickly rethink that idea (The warning on the label about the product including chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer caught my eye, as well).

The unevenness of the cut visor concerns me slightly, but I think that a trip to Lowes to pick up some craft files will alleviate my troubles. I do, however, want to level out all sections of the visor area, so as to best fit the new visor into it.

Unfortunately for me, the flaw in the helmet runs all the way from the top of the dome back down to the bottom of the helmet, near the keyholes. Also, I cut out the keyholes, but they need a little additional filing and evening out. No biggie.

All in all, I think I did fairly well for a single day. Maybe this evening I'll finish working out that flaw, and pick up some files at Lowes so I can smooth out the keyhole cuts. Advice/comments/questions are always welcome and appreciated!

Last edited by Jaster TK1580; Aug 5, 2007 at 11:18 AM.
Reason: Thread expanded from just helmet to full armor.

Well it's not a difficult fix. I just did the same thing I did with the dent, and lined the seam line with a very small amount of marine epoxy and then sanded it down. I'm actually almost finished with fixing the seam...I just have to put a little more epoxy on the visor rim on the back and sand it down. As soon as I get ahold of the armor set that WB is making for me, I'll get to painting my bucket.

Upon close inspection of Jaster's helmet in JFOS, it turned out that his ear pieces look nothing like the ones that came with this helmet. Matter of fact, they don't really look like any earpieces I've ever seen. They're almost accordion-like on both sides, with the antenna coming out of a more box-like structure than the circular one that goes on most buckets. This is going to set me back a little bit, as I think I'm probably either going to have to make custom ear pieces, or find someone who is better at customs and have them do it for me. If anyone has any ideas on this, please let me know.

Additionally, close inspection of the comics revealed that the symbol that Jaster has on both shoulder bells is a bit different than the standard Fett mythosaur skull. It appears to be a yellow shield with a wider-tusked black skull over the top.

I finished fixing up the crease in the helmet, and finished filing down the keyholes for the time being. I'm sure I'll decide I want them smoother later, but for now, I am pleased. Pictures to come.

On a side note, I searched high and low for a straight-on graphic of the shoulder bell mythosaur, to no avail. I got fed up looking and made my own. I think I see someone in another thread who has a decal studio to make it with.

That decal is different in every pic if you look at the comics a bit closer. I have a source for decals near me that can make a decal in matte black that will look like a hybrid off all of them. Actually, the artist was feeling a bit lazy as well, lol. The armor, helmet earcaps and boots are different in every picture. When I made mine, I used the best straight on shots to make the details in my costume..

WB has got my armor covered. I've got a jumpsuit, cape, holsters, and vest lined up. I've got the boots, ammo belt, and helmet kit. I am currently concerned with the earpieces, which given a little time and ingenuity, I think I can attach the current earpieces to the INSIDE of the helmet, and then cut into them from the outside, creating the desired effect, or I could just buy some off of MJ. I currently have a RA gauntlet kit which I hate to let go to waste, but they are too complex for an accurate Jaster outfit. I haven't yet decided whether or not I want to try including hoses, as some frames show Jaster with two hoses, some with one, and some with none at all.

Personally, I like the hoses, it gives the a more realistic feel to the costume. As for the weapon, I made the pistol from JFOS#1- it had the biggest pic of it and it had a slightly complex look to it.

After a failed attempt to find some Rub & Buff, I decided to layer some spray paint. I started with a standard gray primer, and then applied a layer of metallic silver. A minor error on my part has caused the paint to run a bit, and I'm having to sand down a few spots and repaint them. After I straighten out the current layer of paint, I'm going to apply some masking tape, apply a fine mist of gunmetal gray (instead of a full layer), and then dull it down by smudging the **** out of it. I'm then going to remove the masking tape, and weather the masked areas by sanding their edges.